Fabaceae Ann Moran violacea Field Botanist False Sarsaparilla

ETYMOLOGY (hard-en-BER-jee-a) After Countess von Hardenberg sister of Baron von Huegel or bergia = PJ. History of words Bergius 1730-1790 Swedish Botanist; The violacea = violet flowers LIFEFORM Creeper 2 m long STATUS Widespread Qld, NSW, Vic, SA: Uncommon at each site HABITAT Open forest, rainforest margins TOLERANCES Well drained to Poorly drained soil Alternate, 12 x 5 cm, lanceolate eucalypt-like single with cordate (heart-shaped) at the base leathery dark green with prominent veins FLOWERS Pea-shaped, 7-10 mm, purple petals, green central eye on long racemes or spreading clusters Flowering Times: June, July, Aug, Sept, Oct, Nov FRUIT Pods, 2-4 cm, flat linear, leathery, dark brown to blackish 4-5 x 2 mm reniform (kidney shaped) pale brown seeds, 6-8 seeds per pod; Seed weight 22 mg hard-coated seeds ant-adapted dispersal soil-stored seedbank Fruiting Times: Sept, Oct, Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb ROOTS Root lesion: Nematodes STEM Twiner with long wiry stems; branches twist around the stems of other ETHNOBOTANY Boiled leaves make a slightly sweet tea. Interrelations between False Sarsaparilla because the was mistaken for Smilax glycophylla (Native Sarsaparilla) people and plants. Ornamental potential usage in landscaping Flowers are dye source give grey-blue to wool PESTS Powdery Mildew, Phytophthora cinnamomi BIRD Eastern Spinebill, Double-eyed Fig-parrot BUTTERFLY Zizina labradus (Common Grass-blue) BEE Megachile sp (Leafcutter Bee) use sections for nesting MOTH Teia anartoides, Cydia zapyrana, Cryptoptila immersana (ivy leafroller) Ectropis excursara, Heliothis punctifera,Teia anartoides INDIGENOUS USE Roots and underground stems roasted used as food. Leaves cause a colic-like condition in horses ID FEATURE Leaves 1-foliolate, flowers in groups of 2 along rachis; calyx teeth 0.8-1.1 mm + Pods 2.5-4 cm Regrowth (seedlings) from surviving rootstocks recorded <1year after fire

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